Coin slot-machine.



J. M. McCLATGHIE.

COIN SLOT MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILED FEB. 12, 1912.

1,046,096. Patented Dec. 3; 1912.

i M WWQ COLUMBIA I'LANOGIZAPH co.,\v,\sum c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MILTON MCGLATCHIE, OF HUNTINGDON, QUEBEC, CANADA, ASSIGNOE OF ONE- HALF TO ROBERT EVERETT COGLAND, OF I-IUNTINGDON, QUEBEC, CANADA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

COIN SLOT-MACHINE.

Patented Dee. 3,1912.

Application filed February 12, 1912. Serial No. 677,001.

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MILTON M 'Cm'rcrim, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the town of Huntingdon, in the county of Huntingdon, in the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin Slot-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The invention relates to improvements in coin slot machines, as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form part of the same.

The invention consists essentially of the novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby coins of different denominations form the electrical connecting pieces and their values are faithfully recorded at a dis tance.

The objects of the invention are to devise a machine and system of great commercial value to telephone companies and the like, to accurately record the deposit of a coin in the slot box apart from said box and gener ally to provide a comparatively cheap and etlicient device.

lnthe drawings Figure l is a diagrammatical view partly in perspective. Pig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the indicating mechanism. Fig. 3 is detail showing the connection of the lid of the coin slot box to the telephone.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the outer casing of the coin slot box preferably rectangular in form and having through the upper end thereof, the coin slots 2, 3 and A of different sizes for different sizes of coins, and while three slots are shown it must be understood that there may be more, if desired, and less if so many are not required.

5 is a lid at the top end shutting down on the upper end side of the casing 1 over the slots 2, 3, and d and preferably hinged at its inner edge to said casing, the said lid 5 forming a switch for cutting out the telephone instrument from the main telephone circuit as will be explained more in detail hereinafter.

6 is the main telephone circuit connected with the said coin slot box at the contacts 7 and 8.

9 is a coin chute for the larger coins verti cally divided by the insulation 10 and having the part 11 energized through its con nection with the contact 8.

12 are slots cut in one of the vertical sides of the chute 9. 13 are slots cut in the other vertical side of the chute 9, said slots 13 are not opposite to the slots 12, but preferably arranged therebetween.

l l is a coin chute for a smaller denomina tion of coin and arranged alongside the coin chute 9 at the lower portion thereof, and having corresponding slots '15 in said lower portion and sloping away at the upper part 16 thereof, to the coin slot 17 is a coin chute for a still smaller denomination of coin and arranged alongside the coin chutes 9 and 1 1, adjacent to the lower end thereof, and having corresponding slot 18 andsloping away on its upper part 19 to the coin slot d.

20 is a contact plate having the vertical rows 21 and 22 of contact pegs, said plate 20 being arranged behind the coin chute 9 and electrically connected with the contact 7 through the electro-magnet 23, said magnet being arranged and supported so as to attract the contact plate 20 on energization.

2e are hinges supporting at their extreme ends the plate 20 and themselves suitably supported by the casing, said hinges being spring-held by the springs 25, and consequently exerting the spring pressure on the plate 20 as opposed to the electrical pull of the magnet 23. The pegs 21 and 22 project through the slots 12 and 13, and consequently through the slots and 18, thereby forming electrical connectors to the plate 20.

It will thus be seen that on dropping say for example a 25 piece through the slot 2, the said piece will descend the chute 9, until it reaches the first obstruction in the form of one of the pegs 21 and temporarily be arrested, sufliciently to form a connector between the part 11 and the plate 20. This closes the local circuit tapping the main line telephone circuit and energizes the electro-magnet 23. The electro-magnet 23 exerts an electrical pull on the plate and draws the peg out of the way of the 25 piece and lets it drop to the next peg which is one of the row 22.

The electrical connecting properties of the coin are not brought into use in the 25 chute by any of the vertical row of pegs 22, because the vertical portion 11 is the only part of the said chute which is energized, therefore when the coin drops to a peg 22 by the outward movement of the plate 20, the said plate 20 is out out and consequently the electro-1nagnet, whereby the said plate 20 is swung inwardly by the pressure of the springs 25, this lets the coin drop to another peg 21 and the electrical connection is similarly made and plate 20 cutin with like results. The coin continues to drop from peg to peg until it drops from the lower peg into the cash box and at each of the pegs 21, when the electrical connection is made, that fact establishes electrical connection through the main line circuit which includes the solenoid 26 forming part of the indicating mechanism contained within the indicator casing 27.

The indicator and its mechanism are shown in the drawings accompanying this specification, but it is not of much service and will only prove confusing to describe in detail the parts of the mechanism, it being sutlicient to say generally that the solenoid spring-held core is operatively connected to the ratchet wheel 28, and as the 25 piece engages each of the pegs 21 a corresponding movement is imparted to the solenoid 26 with the result that the ratchet wheel 28 is rotated to the extent of one tooth which swings the indicating hand 29, live points representing y? at each operation. The indicating mechanism is also shown with the recording mechanism but a description of this would only be interesting in so far as this is concerned and has nothing to do with the successful operation of this invention.

In the chute 1a the passage is arranged as regards obstructions tor a piece and the first one of the said obstructions is the uppermost peg ot' the vertical row 22. The 10 piece is arrested between said peg and the energized wall of the chute, thus providing the means of closing the local circuit and bringing the elcctro-magnet into operation as also the indicating hand 29 which will move to the extent of 5. The

next obstruction to the 10 piece merely gives time for the return of the plate while the lower obstruction is again on the same side as the upper obstruction and forms one of the row of pegs 21. The electrical operation is the same consequently the indicating hand turns to figure 10 or 10. The last chute here shown is the chute indicated by the numeral 17 and in this length there is only the one peg that is one of the row 22, which efi'ects the electrical connection, while one of the lower pegs arrests the piece su'lliciently for the return of the plate 20.

In this invention it will be seen that there is a certainty of the deposit of the coin, which does not exist in the present telephone pay stations, for under the present system the operator relies on the sound of the bell carried over the wire of the main circuit, while in this instance the record of the payment is actually indicated to the operator at the central otiice and there is no getting away from this at all, furthermore the instrument of the telephone cannot be used while the coin is being deposited for the lid 5 is up and through the electrical connections the instrument is temporarily cut out from the main circuit though by closing the lid the instrument is again in the circuit and at the record oi the payment established at the central oflice, the conversation will. be permitted.

There are various other uses to which this invention may be applied, but it will undoubtedly be of greater advantage to telephone companies than to others.

hat I claim as my invention is:

1. in a coin slot machine, a casing having a coin slot, a chute from said slot, an obstruction in said chute pr venting the tree descent of a coin therethrough, and means established by the coin within said chute for electrically removing said obstruction in its descent and coincidently establishing an electric circuit.

2. In a coin slot machine, a casing having a coin slot, a chute from said slot, a plurality of coin arresters arranged vertically in said chute, and means established by the coin tor electrically moving said arresters to one side to permit the passing of a coin and. coincidently establishing an electric circuit.

3. In a coin slot machine, a casing having a slot, a coin chute extending into said casing from said slot and itself slotted at intervals and electrically engaged on one side, a contact plate having contact pegs extending through said chute slots, and electric means for drawing said plate to one side on the establishing of an electric connect-ion between said chute and said plate.

4. in a coin slot machine, a casing having a plurality of coin slots, a plurality of chutes from said slots leading to the lower end of said casing, each of said chutes having one vertical side electrically energized, one of said chutes having slots in each of its vertical edges at intervals throughout its height, the remaining chutes having slots registering with certain of the said chute slots, an electrical contact plate having contact pegs therefrom extending through said slots and flexibly supported, a main line circuit connected with the electrically energized plate of said chutes and an electro-magnet connected With said contact plate and With said main line circuit.

In a coin slot machine, in combination, a casing having a plurality of coin slots, a plurality of chutes extending downwardly from said coin slots into said casing and adapted to receive different sized coins, the smaller coin chutes sloping away from the larger coin chute intermediately of the ieight of the latter, said large coin chute having slots through each side edge and said smaller coin chutes having slots in the edge thereoi corresponding with some of the aforesaid slots, an electrically energized )late having contact pegs projecting from each side thereof and extending through said chute slots, elongated spring-held hinges secured to the casing and supporting said plate, an electro-magnet suitably supported adjacent to said plate and electrically connected therewith, a main line circuit electrically connected With said electro-magnet and With said chutes and an indicating mechanism electrically operated by its connection with said main line circuit.

6. In a coin slot machine, in combination. a casing having a plurality of coin slots, a plurality of chutes from said slots arranged for dilierent sized coins, a plurality of obstructions vertically arranged in the large coin slot, certain of said obstructions extending into the smaller coin slots, an indicating and recording mechanism apart from said slot casing, a main line electric circuit opcratively connected with said indicating and recording mechanism, and means for sieving said obstructions established by the temporary stoppage of the coin, and coincidently telegraphing the arrest of said coin to said indicating and recording mechanism.

7. The combination with the ordinary telephone circuit, a coin slot casing having a coin slot in the top thereof, a main line electric circuit, a hinged plate secured on the top of said casing, a local circuit from said hinged cover to said main line circuit, adapted, on the raising of said hinged plate, to cut out the telephone instrument from said main line circuit, and means Within said casing electrically connected With said main line circuit for sending over said main line circuit impulses corresponding to the value of the coin.

Signed at the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada this seventh day or February, 1912.

JOHN EHLTON HGCLI'XT'CHIE. l v itnesses V. B. CAMMOND,

P. A. Sir-Inn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

